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REPORT
THE PHYLOS MONOPOLY SCIENCE IN THE NAME OF PROFIT
The recent announcement by US Bioscience company Phylos that they will be starting their own “cannabis breeding” division has sent shockwaves through the cannabis industry. Whilst some say it’s an inevitable result of capitalism, many feel cheated and lied to and are worried that their products and intellectual property could now be at risk of being used against them to drive them out of the market. For those unfamiliar or confused by the whole situation lets break it all down and explain how and why Phylos are causing such a stir.
WHO ARE PHYLOS? Phylos are an Oregon based Bioscience company, launched in 2014 that until recently specialized solely in the genetic certification of cannabis.
property,” and “build a trusted brand” whilst further stating that they would not claim ownership over their genetics. So far this all sounds like a great idea, so what’s the problem? On April 16th 2019 Phylos CEO and founder Mowgli Holmes announced that Phylos would be starting their own in-house breeding program to create new and better strains of Cannabis and Hemp!
The most popular test being a genetic identity test which tells you what plant you are growing, where it came from, what other varieties it is related to and where it fits in with the whole cannabis “family tree”.
WHY IS THE CANNABIS COMMUNITY ANGRY?
The results of your test would then be included on the cannabis “Galaxy” which is an interactive 3D map of the whole cannabis population. Companies are then sent their genetic report along with certification seals which can be shared online or on packaging to show potential customers that your strain has been certified and authentically identified as true. Phylos sold this test on their website as a way to “defend your intellectual
Many who submitted strains to Phylos feel deceived after believing that Phylos would not share or use their information to their own advantage. The idea of the Galaxy project was sold as a means to prevent other breeders from stealing genetics. The large majority of participants would not have taken part, had they known of Phylos’s true intentions. The concern now is that Phylos could use
tissue samples of plant stock to recreate or breed new and improved plants or at the very least use the statistical data that they have collected since 2014 to inform their own breeding project! This is a big deal, as the mass of genetic information that Phylos has acquired since 2014 would both allow them to recreate the best strains and also give them ideas on how to improve them further.
HOW HAVE PHYLOS RESPONDED? Phylos CEO Mowgli Holmes responded to this outrage via Instagram, in an attempt to clarify some of the details behind Phylos’ new and controversial breeding endeavour. “It’s been suggested that we’re claiming ownership over plant samples that have been sent to us and leveraging our genetic database to compete against our customers,” Holmes wrote. “That would be really f*cked up. But it’s not true.” “We are not using the data about your plants to help us breed. Your plants don’t belong to us and we’re not going to steal them.” He also stated that the Galaxy testing process was not advanced enough to allow his company to recreate plants and that they would not do that anyway as it would be theft. Despite this insistence however, the Phylos breeding plan sounded to many like it was something to worry about and that it would indeed be competing with other breeders. The plans of the program include making
high-THC strains and flavored strains, tackling powdery mildew and making stronger plants”. Matters were only made worse when as shortly after the release of this statement a video was leaked of Holmes pitching to investors at the Benzinga Cannabis Capital Conference in February earlier this year. The video contained information that seemingly revealed the true intentions that Phylos had held from the start. The video revealed that, despite Phylos later claiming that they would “not be competing with Breeders,” the new breeding program had always been the company’s long term plan, with the future eventual aim of making the company a lucrative target for acquisition by Big Agriculture. “In a couple years, this is going to be the third biggest ag crop in the country right behind corn and soy,” “And none of the science has ever been applied to it. So we built our company to take all of that science that mainly exists inside commercial AG and bring it to this new crop.” In the video, Holmes revealed that he foresees companies like Phylos, that are running genetic breeding programs to be the first to be bought up once the big corporate money lands within the cannabis industry. He also adds that Phylos was already in the middle of a $20 million raise that would fund the company through the release of its first set of strains. Additionally, Holmes is heard admitting that Phylos WILL in fact be using all the information that they have collated since 2014 in order to give themselves a massive competitive advantage and create “optimized” plants which they hope will dominate the market. Holmes is quoted as saying the following. "I think the main ones (advantages) are that it would be impossible for anyone else to collect
